


Pounding in His Ears

by HoddieMaine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, little tiny bits of gore/violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 08:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoddieMaine/pseuds/HoddieMaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another snap shot of the 104th kids. Armin is badass too you guys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pounding in His Ears

"Shit."

Blood was pounding in his ears, a faint ringing barely audible over the _wump wump wump_ in his eardrums. Warm crimson made its way in rivulets down his neck, pooling in his clavicle.

_Just keep it clinical, you have no time to worry about yourself, focus._

His feet collided with the soft earth in a steady rhythm. The cold air made his lungs ache slightly with every sharp intake of air as he sprinted through the open field. He imagined if he wasn't surrounded by the pungent metallic scent of what was mostly his own blood, he would be able to smell winter in the wind chill.

The blonde teen surveyed the expanse of land in front of him. No one and nothing in sight. His heroics had gotten him separated from his team. As planned, the twelve meter had chased after him and successfully been led away from an increasingly overwhelmed Jean. Armin was not even supposed to be part of the fray, merely eyes and ears for Hanji in the reconnaissance of an area previously deamed "clear". Somewhere behind him was a steaming carcass.

Eren and Mikasa would be fine, logically he knew that, he stilled worried. Jean and Connie had been surrounded and even after Sasha rode in like a knight in shining armor, they were still severely outnumbered. He had to get back. He couldn't lose any more friends.

He rounded a small cluster of trees and could see a tangle of titan limbs as Eren threw one to the ground, small dark specks seeming to buzz around the mayhem. They were still so far away. He cursed himself for losing his horse. He checked his maneuver gear as he ran harder than he thought possible. He could hear yelling in the distance. The dry blades of grass surrounding him were blurs of amber as his laser focus pinpointed on his friends.

The scrape of metal on metal replaced the whooshing in his ears. His feet left the ground as his anchors dug deep in the flesh of a giant shoulder. Mikasa could be heard screaming his name as she and Sasha fell their own titan, but he ignored her, there was a move to be made in front of him. With the mindset of someone moving a pawn across the board, he propelled himself forward towards the large nape before him. Blades ripped through meat. Armin could feel the heat penetrate his very bones. He began to descend but movement caught his eye.

The titan he was still anchored to was not wasting away on the ground as it should be. His incision had not been deep enough it seemed. He turned as best he could and swung around to face his opponent. Jean and Sasha were taking down the only other titan left. Mikasa was running full force towards him. Eren's titan form began to bellow.

His titan swung at him. Instinct allowed him to just barely duck out of the way, and with renewed urgency he round the head, avoiding the gaping maw and thrust his blades deep into the neck of the beast, breaking one in half. At last the titan fell to its knees and crumpled to the ground.

Armin landed roughly, rolling a few times before coming to a stop on his hands and knees. He shakily stood, aware of every bruise and fracture he would have to deal with tomorrow. There would be a tomorrow though, hedrew strength from that. He dusted himself off, the _wump wump wump_ returning as adrenaline wore off. His skin was sticky with sweat and blood in various levels of crustiness. His shirt stuck to him uncomfortably. He sheathed his blade and a half, and looked up. His friends were in front of him, mouths open wide in an attempt at speach. He heard nothing but his heart beat and distorted sounds of distress. He made to move towards them in an effort to hear them. His knees buckled and his vision swam. Darkness bled into the edges of his sight. He was vaguely aware of hitting the ground. 

_At least its not the stomach of a titan_ , he thought as he looked up at the fading sky one last time.

*****

There was a pounding, no longer in his ears, his head had the misfortune of taking on the sensation. Every inch of him ached. His mouth was dry and he struggled to swallow, licking his lips in a vain attempt to create some moisture. 

"Armin? Are you awake?" He could tell Eren was trying his best to keep his voice low. 

"Eren, please don't get your hopes up, he's been moving in his sleep all night," Mikasa whispered, placing her warm hand over his.

Armin groaned, blinking his eyes open as much as he could. Mustering up ever nice of energy he could find, he lifted his head off the small stack of lumpy pillows. Eren and Mikasa held him down.

"Armin, please, you're hurt really bad," Eren said looking at Armin with his big puppy dog eyes.

"I need to tell Hanji of my findings," he said struggling weakly against them.

"Armin, you hit your head, you have a concussion. The medics said you lost a lot of blood. Hanji said you shouldn't have been able to walk let alone take down a titan." She took a deep breath, "we're really glad you're OK."

Soft sounds came from the other side of the room. Armin craned his head to see Connie, Sasha and Jean sleeping practically in a heap near the door, someone's scouting cloak draped across them. He could tell by the dried mud caked on their skin and old blood scabbed and cracking, the most cleaning received having been a quick swipe of a hand, that they had been there all night. 

He relaxed into his threadbare sheets. A warm tear spilled over his lids, streaking its way down his temple and into his hairline, finding its way to the nape of his neck and wetting the pillow cradling it. He slipped back into sleep comforted by the knowledge that he was surrounded by family. He would always be safe with them.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this mostly to Jaeger Bomb on 8tracks.


End file.
